Secretary Clinton, along with numerous other foreign ministers, attended the 10th anniversary meeting of the Community of Democracies in Krakow, Poland. The Community of Democracies, which was founded by Clinton’s predecessor Madeleine Albright and the late Polish Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek, aims to encourage international cooperation among democratic countries in supporting and defending democracy worldwide. Each country represented at the meeting reaffirmed its commitment to strengthen and promote democratic values and practices, and an award for promoting democracy in honor of the late Foreign Minister Geremek was presented to Father Jose Conrado, a Cuban priest known for his outspoken criticism of the dictatorship. Secretary Clinton spoke at the event, as did Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Polish freedom fighter Lech Walesa, the founder of the Solidarity trade union.

The State Department announced that Secretary Clinton will travel to Kyiv, Krakow, Baku, Yerevan and Tbilisi beginning on Friday, July 2. In Krakow, Secretary Clinton will participate in the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Community of Democracies, a global intergovernmental coalition of democratic countries with the goal of promoting democratic rules and strengthening democratic norms and institutions around the world. Secretary Clinton will also meet with Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski.

Speaking about Secretary Clinton’s visit, Ambassador Feinstein said, “In announcing plans to attend the Community of Democracies and lending other U.S. support, Secretary Clinton is sending a strong signal of American backing for Poland’s efforts to strengthen the Community of Democracies.” Ambassador Feinstein attended the first Ministerial of the Community of Democracies in Warsaw in June 2000, when he served as an adviser to then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who, along with former Minister of Foreign Affairs Bronislaw Geremek, conceived the idea and convened the original conference.

In Kyiv, Secretary Clinton will open the second meeting of the Strategic Partnership Commission and meet with government officials, including President Yanukovych and Foreign Minister Gryshchenko, and with civil society and independent media leaders. After Krakow, the Secretary will continue on to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, where she will hold meetings with government officials and civil society leaders to discuss bilateral issues, as well as issues related to regional peace and stability.